New wearable antenna helps health monitoring

The researchers said he designed a new, flexible, stretchable and bendable health monitoring device that can be worn during exercise. "Even if it is severely bent, twisted or stretched, our antennas can still function," said researcher Zhu Yong, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University. "This is important because embedded applications wearable devices can accept various deformations to move patients."

Health monitoring systems allow people to leave the hospital and are monitored by doctors, Zhu said. A large number of wearable sensors have been developed to measure electrical signals from temperature, hydration, or body movement to the patient. All these sensors need the signals emitted by the antenna, he said. "There is a clear need for developing antennas that can be easily accepted, 'a wearable system that can better monitor and diagnose patients,'" he said in a statement. "Our technology is relatively simple and can be directly integrated into the sensor itself," Zhu said.
The antenna's frequency changes when the antenna is stretched, but it still stays at a particular frequency bandwidth, which means it is still communicating with remote devices, the researchers said. And after the work is over, the antenna will still return to its original shape. The next step for the researchers is to form a prototype of a remote health monitoring system with an electronic signal sensor and a previously designed antenna, he said.